Ruto: Give me a year to lower Unga prices
President William Ruto now says he needs a year to lower the price of maize flour.
Speaking in Kibra, Nairobi, while commissioning a housing project on October 25, 2022, the Head of State asked Kenyans to be patient with him as he works round the clock to lower the cost of living.
“I know the cost of living is high,” he said.
“The (Unga) prices went up because of the mess created by the former government but I will resolve that in the next year. We’ve started the process by giving farmers 1.4 million bags of subsidized fertilizer.”
In the mid-term, President Ruto says his government will empower farmers to affordably produce maize.
During the campaign period leading to the August 2022 polls, President Ruto consistently blamed the political union between former president Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga for the high cost of living.
President Ruto also promised to lower the Unga prices days after assuming office.
A 2kg packet of Unga is now retailing at Sh230, Sh20 higher than at the time former president Uhuru exited the office on September 13, 2022.
The increased price has in part been attributed to the shortage of maize in the country, forcing the government to mainly import the precious grain from Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
The former president introduced a subsidy program for maize flour, Kenya’s most prominent food, and petrol to ensure the prices were lower but these were scrapped by President Ruto upon assuming office.
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